Fear of the future and longing for the past are major factors which impede appropriate action.

When we do not reject our suffering, or add anything to it, pain is simply pain. It is what we add to our pain that turns it into suffering.

All experiences are welcomed and fully digested, not judged good or bad.

We create a mask to meet the masks of others. Then we wonder why we cannot love, and why we feel so alone.

When we are in a truly loving relationship, we receive the gift of being known and accepted. We become more, not less, of who we are. We receive the space in which to bloom. This is how we know we are in a loving relationship. We are blooming, and the one we love is blooming as well.

In the Zen Way we focus upon each breath, each day, each moment and experience it totally. One complete breath brings the next.

We turn pain into suffering by adding on all kinds of beliefs, interpretations and judgments to it.